#prolonged custody

The Madhya Pradesh High Court granted bail to an accused in an NDPS case after 17 months of pre-trial detention, holding that excessive delay in trial, combined with no flight risk and completed investigation, overrides the gravity of the offence. This reinforces Article 21’s speedy trial guarantee as a standalone ground for bail, even in non-bailable drug cases where charges remain unproven.

The Karnataka High Court granted regular bail to two accused after five years in custody, holding that unexplained trial delays combined with hostile witnesses and no criminal history violate the right to speedy trial under Article 21. This reinforces that gravity of offence cannot override constitutional protections when justice is unduly stalled, setting a critical precedent for accused in non-bailable homicide cases facing systemic delays.

MP High Court grants bail after six rejections, emphasizing the accused's prolonged detention and a prosecution witness's testimony contradicting the victim's version. The ruling underscores that continued incarceration is unjustified when material evidence remains unexamined, setting a precedent for bail in serious offenses under the SC/ST Act.

Chhattisgarh High Court grants regular bail under Section 483 BNSS where the victim and key witness turned hostile, and the accused had already spent five months in custody with minimal trial progress. The ruling underscores that prolonged detention without trial advancement may outweigh the gravity of POCSO allegations, even in serious offences.

Patna High Court granted bail to a POCSO convict after five years in custody, emphasizing that DNA evidence excluding paternity and prolonged detention without trial progress violated the right to a fair trial under Article 21. The ruling underscores that statutory presumptions under POCSO cannot override factual anomalies and undue delay in justice delivery.

The Bombay High Court granted bail to two convicts serving life terms after 8 and 10 years in custody, holding that excessive post-conviction delay in hearing appeals violates the right to speedy trial under Article 21. The ruling reinforces that the gravity of the offence cannot override the constitutional right to liberty when appellate justice is unduly delayed, setting a critical precedent for long-term prisoners awaiting appellate review.

The Calcutta High Court ruled that detaining an accused for over three years without trial under the PMLA, despite bail in the predicate offence and concluded investigation, violates the fundamental right to liberty under Article 21. This sets a critical precedent that statutory bail barriers under Section 45 cannot override constitutional protections when trial delays are unreasonable and evidence is already secured.